The Baltimore-based Afro House Concert Series is a celebration of the city’s extraordinary maker scene. The series features composer and pianist Scott Patterson on piano, Afro House ensembles (including the Astronaut Symphony), special guests, and local food, beverage and tech makers.
Afro House Concert No. 2 featured Scott Patterson on piano, Max Bent on beatbox and Larry Melton on bass guitar. Filmed by Kurt Sensenbrenner.

In 2013 Scott Patterson was joined by Eric T. Styles, Preston Andrew Patterson and Greg Lathan to perform a concert at the Forum Theater located in Silver Spring, MD. In this excerpt, Scott Patterson performs his composition entitled Purple Dragon. Filmed by Sean Biffar

In 2018 Scott Patterson was invited to perform Afro Punk Ballet during the CAAPA Opera Composer's Showcase at The Clarice Smith. In this excerpt, V Savoy performs There Used To Be A River Here. Scott Patterson composed the music, libretto and lyrics for Afro Punk Ballet.

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About
Scott

Baltimore City

Scott Patterson is a pianist, composer, lyricist and librettist of incomparable talent. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review describes Patterson’s playing as, “a masterly blend of virtuosity, singing style and beautiful voicing.” His blend of classical, soul and rock music is futuristic, emotive and luxuriant.
Since 2012 Patterson has toured with Camille A. Brown & Dancers. He is contributing composer of the Bessie Award winning Mr. TOL E. RAncE and Brown’s critically acclaimed work, BLACK GIRL:... more

DESCRIPTIONAfro Punk Ballet is an Afrofuturistic opera-ballet. Set years into the future, the story delves into the world of two sisters unable to agree on how to handle the catastrophic consequences of a decision made by their late father.

Levi, a brilliant military scientist with a unique spiritual knowledge of space and time creates a second sun. The unprecedented devastation of his sun brings the nation’s inhabitants near extinction. Levi’s unwillingness to face the realities of his creation, leaves his eldest daughter and successor, Corfaszia, to restore order to the land. Jakub, the younger of the two daughters, with a deep connection to the spirit world, is forced into exile.

Afro Punk Ballet is an exploration of the crossroads between African spirituality, mathematics, and physics, poetically weaving “time and space” within the movement and music. Inspired by the experience of spiritual possession in the black southern gospel tradition and similar experiences within the Afro Punk Movement, this piece utilizes a soundscape that encompasses the styles of punk music, 20th century French music, and southern gospel music. With contemporary ballet’s use of abstraction, the world of Afro Punk Ballet is futuristic and mythical. By using the grandeur of opera and ballet, this piece strives to tell an epic story that challenges popular notions of heroism, morality and futurism.

NEXT STEPS
The remaining acts of Afro Punk Ballet are currently being written. The goal is to premiere Afro Punk Ballet in 2020. To get from here to there means applying for residencies to workshop the piece, grants to fund the development and production of the work, doing crowdsourcing campaigns, etc. In addition, the Afro House Concert Series will be used to workshop the music and librettto.

An article about Afro Punk Ballet appeared in Baltimore Magazine prior to the three performances at The Peale in the fall of 2018. The article was written by Angela Carroll. It can be found at: https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2018/10/4/afro-punk-ballet-is-a-sci-fi-futuristic-opera-like-nothing-youve-seen-before
Image credit: Photos By Kintz

This short documentary was filmed during a residency at Single Carrot Theater. The purpose of the residency was to workshop Act I of Afro Punk Ballet. In the film, co-creators Scott Patterson, Preston Andrew Patterson and Eric T. Styles discuss the process of creating Afro Punk Ballet. Filmed by Kurt Sensenbrenner

In March 2019 Act I of Afro Punk Ballet will be performed at 89.7 WTMD in Towson, MD.

Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe

EBON KOJO: THE LAST TRIBE
A Sci-Fi Tone Poem
Story, Music and Lyrics by Scott Patterson

Performed by Scott Patterson & Astronaut Symphony

DESCRIPTION
What if a man struggling against being mechanical, could not accept his son as anything but a machine? Sent from a dying earth, General Kojo and Ra-7 have been ordered to “recolor” the distant and barren planet Beta-5. Upon their arrival to Beta-5, Ebon and Ra are immediately confronted with unprecedented realities that transform them both.

Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe, a sci-fi tone poem written by Scott Patterson, utilizes the incomparable talents of Afro House’s Astronaut Symphony to tell a fresh story. Throughout the work members of the Astronaut Symphony morph in and out of mediums and genres, boldly taking on the roles of musician, singer, dancer, and actor.

The music of Sun Ra and his film Space is the Place, Christina De Middel’s photobook Afronauts and Frances Bodomo’s film of the same name inspired Patterson to imagine his own futuristic world inundated with sound. In this world, sound and music bend the laws of physics, becoming instruments of creation and destruction.

The Last Tribe challenges popular notions of heroism, morality, beauty and the role of art in society. Through sound design, film and equations of spirit and sound, Patterson weaves together a story of space exploration, environmentalism, father/son relationships and social greed.

NEXT STEPS
Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe is part of a trilogy that includes Afro Punk Ballet. It is the first story in the trilogy. The work done thus far on Afro Punk Ballet has greatly informed the direction Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe will go in, as work on completing it continues.

Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe was performed during the Charm City Fringe Festival in 2015. It was a one-man show at that time. The performances that followed featured the Astronaut Symphony. A desire to explore what the piece would be like with more instrumentation and voice prompted the shift. Image credit: Andrew Creelman

In 2016 Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe was workshopped during a weeklong residency at Single Carrot Theater in Baltimore, MD. A work-in-progress performance was held at the end of the week. Performers: Scott Patterson, Chua Phaik Tzihi, Jabri Exum, Wesley Patterson, Megan Livingston, and Tyler St. Clare. Image Credit: Photos By Kintz

This image captures Mateen Milan as Ra-7 (bassoonist) and Scott Patterson as General Ebon Kojo (piano, keyboard and Fender Rhodes) during the work-in-progress performance at Joe’s Movement Emporium for NextLook.

This work-in-progress performance was presented by NextLOOK at the end of a weeklong residency at Joe’s Movement Emporium. Performers: Scott Patterson, Mateen Milan, Chanel Whitehead, Ross Vincent, Lauren Vanden Broeck, and Mikela Murphy. Filmed by John William Patterson

This is an example of the movement work done during rehearsals for Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe in preparation for the weeklong NextLook residency at Joe's Movement Emporium.
Movement coach: Kolleen Kintz

Afro House Concert Series

DESCRIPTION
The Baltimore-based Afro House Concert Series is a celebration of the city’s extraordinary maker scene. The series features composer and pianist Scott Patterson on piano, Afro House ensembles (including the Astronaut Symphony), special guests, and local food, beverage and tech makers.

Located in the Northeast Baltimore neighborhood of Hamilton-Lauraville, every other month Afro House’s co-founders, Alisha Patterson and Scott Patterson open their home and invite people to join them in creating Disruptive. Music. Culture. The series serves as a laboratory for the food, beverage, tech and music makers involved. Experimentation is the rule instead of the exception. Thus, new ideas are explored in a safe and intimate setting.

The proximity inherent in these gatherings creates a unique shared experience, one in which all the senses are engaged. There are no barriers between the concert goers and the makers. As a result, genuine connections are made because of the organic, communal nature of the series.

NEXT STEPS
The Afro House Concert Series will contnue in 2019. Musically, the series has been used to build the Astronaut Symphony, an ensemble that appears in both Ebon Kojo: The Last Tribe and Afro Punk Ballet. It has also been used to workshop the music from Afro Punk Ballet and Scott Patterson's compositions for solo piano and other ensembles.

The music performed during this concert was composed by Scott Patterson for three upright basses and a piano. This piece is entitled Cloud Nebula.
Performers: Scott Patterson (piano), Corey Emerson (upright bass), Ronald Patterson (upright bass) and Robin Rhodes (upright bass).

This image was captured by Theresa Keil during the Afro House Concert held in September 2018. It appears in issue 6 of the BmoreArt print journal.
The music performed at this concert was composed by Scott Patterson for three upright basses and a piano. Performers: Scott Patterson (piano), Corey Emerson (upright bass), Ronald Patterson (upright bass) and Robin Rhodes (upright bass).

The Afro House Concert Series appeared in Baltimore Magazine’s May 2018 Music Issue. Located on page 100 under “In Concert”, the magazine shares the following: “A hidden gem that boasts some of the city’s most imaginative musical experiences, like sci-fi tone poems and symphonic improvisations, fueled by renowned pianist Scott Patterson.”

Mr. TOL E. RAncE, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play and ink make up the dance company’s trilogy about culture, race and identity. Scott Patterson’s compositions for each work have been performed for audiences at numerous venues, such as, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Belfast Festival at Queen’s, White Bird, and The Joyce Theater.

NEXT STEPS
In 2019, Scott Patterson will continue to collaborate with Camille A. Brown, as well perform with the Camille A. Brown & Dancers.

In 2018 Scott Patterson returned to the TED stage with Camille A. Brown & Dancer’s to perform a New Second Line. He opened the performance of Camille A. Brown's New Second Line with an incredible piano solo. His first TED performance was in 2015 with Camille A. Brown, a TED Fellow.

ink is the third installation in Camille A. Brown’s trilogy about culture, race and identity. In 2017 the work premiered in Washington, DC at The Kennedy Center. Scott Patterson contributed compositions for piano to the piece and performed at the premiere.
Pictured: Allison Miller, Wilson Torres, Scott Patterson and Juliette Jones

BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play is the second installation in Camille A. Brown’s trilogy about culture, race and identity. In 2015 the work premiered in New York, NY at The Joyce Theater. Scott Patterson contributed compositions for piano to the piece and performed at the premiere. Tracy Wormworth contributed compositions for electric bass.

Mr. TOL E. RAncE is the first installation in Camille A. Brown’s trilogy about culture, race and identity. In 2013 the work premiered in New York, NY at The Kitchen. Scott Patterson contributed compositions for piano to the piece and performed at the premiere.
COMPOSERS: Brandon McCune, Kurt “KC” Clayton, Jonathan Melville Pratt, and Scott Patterson

Other Live Performances

DESCRIPTION
During the 2013 run of Dan Dietz’s Clementine in the Lower 9 Scott Patterson performed in concert at the Forum Theater in Silver Spring, MD. He also served as the music director and performed in the role of Chorus during the run of Clementine in the Lower 9. The incredible set, designed by Baker Artist Award recipient, Lisi Stoessel, served a backdrop for the concert.

For the concert, Scott Patterson was joined by Eric T. Styles (voice), Preston Andrew Patterson (dance/piano), and Greg Lathan (voice). They performed original compositions composed by Scott Patterson for piano and voice.

100 Year Symposium

DESCRIPTION
In 2018 Scott Patterson received the Creative Baltimore Fund Project Support Grant to hold 100 Year Symposiums. 100 Year Symposium aims to serve neighborhoods in Northeast Baltimore through a unique experience that involves a futuristic opera and a robust discourse in homes/community gathering places about what 100 years into the future would look like.

In partnership with Belair-Edison Neighborhood, Inc. (BENI), Astronaut Symphony, a contemporary ensemble led by pianist and composer, Scott Patterson, will perform excerpts of the opera-ballet, Afro Punk Ballet. Set years into the future, Afro Punk Ballet delves into the world of two sisters unable to agree on how to handle the catastrophic consequences of a decision made by their late father, Levi, a brilliant military scientist. With a unique spiritual knowledge of space and time, Levi creates a second sun. The unprecedented devastation of his sun brings the nation’s inhabitants near extinction.

Through facilitated civil conversation, neighbors will engage in a meaningful discussion about what it means to be a steward of the future, in the intimate and familiar setting of a home/community gathering place. Thus, lifting up and closely examining existing conversations being held in their neighborhood about the future of their community. The story and music of Afro Punk Ballet will serve as an entry point and source of inspiration to delve into areas yet to be explored by the participants.

The 100 Year Symposium will serve the neighborhoods that make up Belair-Edison and Hamilton-Lauraville. Both Belair Edison and Hamilton-Lauraville are Healthy Neighborhoods and Main Street communities.

The symposiums will be recorded and made available online (e.g. BENI’s website, social media platforms, etc.). A summary of the conversation will be captured by the facilitator and shared with BENI and the participants, with an emphasis on how to include elements of the conversation held during the 100 Year Symposiums in the work being done by the community.

NEXT STEPS
A home or community gathering place is being secured for the 100 Year Symposiums that will be held in March 2019 and April 2019 and additional partnerships are being formed.

Through the 100 Year Symposium, neighbors will come together to engage in a meaningful discussion about what it means to be a steward of the future, in the intimate and familiar setting of a home/community gathering place. Image credit: Photos By Kintz

The Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance (GBCA) is an inclusive and independent organization that believes that arts and culture are essential to the vitality of the Greater-Baltimore region and that the cultural community is stronger together than apart.